Tom Fox (1860 – 10 August 1934) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Labour Party politician. Born to a Catholic family in

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

, Fox worked half-time in a cotton mill from an early age, while attending St Peter's School. He studied at the

mechanics institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult ed ...

in his spare time, before leaving the mill due to poor health and working as a shop assistant.All About People: Tittle Tattle
, '' Catholic Press'', 22 November 1934 In about 1875, he joined the King's Liverpool Regiment, serving in

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and then fighting in the

Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War (), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance continuing into 1887. It was the final of three wars fought in the 19th century between the Burmese and the Br ...

, where he became a sergeant and was nearly killed. He subsequently retired from the Army and became a labourer. Labour Party, ''Report of the Annual Conference'' (1934), p.65 He worked with

Leonard Hall Leonard Hall may refer to: People *Leonard Hall (boxer) (born 1907, date of death unknown), Rhodesian and later South African boxer *Leonard Hall (socialist) (1866–1916), British trade unionist and socialist activist *Leonard J. Hall (born 1943), ...

to form the Manchester Ship Canal Navvies Union in 1888; this became the British Labour Amalgamation, and Fox succeeded Hall as its General Secretary in 1897.Arthur Ivor Marsh, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions, Vol. 5'', p.448-449 He increased the union's membership, to nearly 5,000 by 1913, before leading it in a merger with the National Union of General Workers in 1917. He also served as Secretary, and later as president, of the Manchester Trades and Labour Council. Fox was an early activist for the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), and was one of its first local election candidates, in 1902. Although he did not win on that occasion, he was elected to

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

in 1904, and remained on the council for many years, becoming an

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in 1919, and serving as the first Labour

Lord Mayor of Manchester This is a list of the lord mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England. Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester mayor. The current and 126th lord mayor is Paul Andrews, Labour, who has served Since ...

, in 1919/20. Fox was a member of the National Executive Committee of the LRC and its successor, the Labour Party, for many years prior to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and he served as

Chair of the Labour Party The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with another position. ...

in 1913/14. He used the opportunity to push the party to adopt more efficient methods of organisation, learning from the

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. Duncan Tanner and

Pat Thane Patricia Thane, known as Pat, is a British historian. Career Thane studied history at the University of Oxford, and then completed her PhD under Brian Abel-Smith at the London School of Economics. She was a lecturer then senior lecturer in t ...

, ''Labour's First Century'', p.315

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Tom 1860 births 1934 deaths Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Councillors in Manchester King's Regiment (Liverpool) soldiers British trade union leaders Lord mayors of Manchester People from Stalybridge Military personnel from Manchester 19th-century British Army personnel British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War